Missed opportunity for brave Westmeath as Dublin hang on to Leinster Crown

A totally committed Westmeath side came perilously close to ending Dublin"s stranglehold on the Delaney Cup at Croke Park last Sunday, but the champions for the past three years held on to their title after a tense contest, with their ability to eke out precious late points under pressure the undoubted key to their hard-earned two-point success. The Lake County have contested only three Leinster senior football finals since the foundation of the championship (famously making it third time lucky four years ago) and, in truth, last Sunday represented an outstanding opportunity to reach the province"s blue riband event for only the fourth time. Some sloppy handpassing all through, the concession of needless frees, as well as missed chances from both open play and placed balls in the second moiety (not that the winners were guilt-free in the latter regard either) contributed to Westmeath"s self-destruction. For Dublin"s part, Paul Caffrey will be more than a little relieved to have qualified for a July 20 showdown with Wexford and the Dubs" shaky performance on Sunday will make the team management realise that Mattie Forde and Co have a genuine opportunity of ending the Slaneysiders" 63-year wait for an 11th provincial crown. While he will be undoubtedly gutted by Sunday"s defeat, Westmeath bainisteoir Tomás Ó Flatharta is likely to take far more positives than negatives out of the display. Not for the first time, the maroon and whites have received what would appear to be a decent draw in the Qualifiers (an away game against a Tipperary side now short of the silken skills of Declan Browne) and if the talismanic Martin Flanagan can be restored to full fitness, who knows how far the 2008 campaign could stretch? The gifted Tyrrellspass man played the final quarter of an hour against Dublin, but his injured right knee was very heavily strapped and his influence was, not unsurprisingly, negligible. Fitness doubts also remain regarding another debutant Dermot Bannon, who was the victim of a particularly nasty challenge from Colin Moran after only 15 minutes and he was later replaced, clearly carrying his left shoulder. It has been well documented that Westmeath lack strength-in-depth and the backroom team will be hoping and praying that they can pick from a full deck come July 19, and hopefully thereafter. A crowd of 67,075 turned up at GAA headquarters (many, needless to say, leaving it late, thereby necessitating the almost ritual 15-minute delay to the throw-in when the Dubs are involved) and this huge attendance, coupled with the presence of the Artane Boys Band, made for an occasion which could easily have passed for an All-Ireland final in the not-too-distant past. Westmeath captain Des Dolan won the toss and elected to play into the Canal End in the first half, allowing the metropolitans whatever slight wind advantage was on offer. Good grafting by Dermot Bannon was spoiled by a sloppy Denis Glennon pass, before the Dubs opened the scoring in the second minute from a well-struck free from Conal Keaney, after John Keane tugged Alan Brogan"s jersey. Gary Connaughton soon got his first touch, comfortably holding Bernard Brogan"s shot. The goalkeeping maestro from Tubberclair then watched calmly as Tomás Quinn"s ambitious attempt for a goal (following a surging run by David Henry) sailed well wide of the target. In the fifth minute, Westmeath equalised when the entire full-forward line combined for Denis Glennon to fire over a lovely left-footed point, with Dublin"s Shane Ryan stopping in his tracks moments earlier. The all-action midfielder had received an accidental blow in the face from a colleague and high-profile veteran Ciaran Whelan came in as a "blood sub". The entire complexion of the game changed in the seventh minute when Donal O"Donoghue"s very perceptive punt forward picked out the inrushing Michael Ennis some 15 metres from goal and the Ballinagore man, aware that Stephen Cluxton had charged off his line, flicked the ball superbly into the unguarded net for a tonic goal for the challengers. It was Westmeath"s first green flag against Dublin in the championship in 41 years. Within a minute, Denis Glennon almost increased his side"s advantage but his shot went wide via the upright. However, the Tyrrellspass star soon made amends when a quickly-taken lineball by Fergal Wilson precipitated a move which ended with the 2004 All-Star nominee dissecting the posts in some style to put his side four points to the good. Dublin"s response was immediate and Alan Brogan kicked a terrific point from an acute angle, despite being heavily pressurised by his old college mate, John Keane. Despite a great shoulder by the hard-working Doran Harte on Barry Cahill, Westmeath were penalised in the immediate aftermath and Tomás Quinn got his name on the scoresheet with a fine 40-metre free. Westmeath"s water-carrier was the subject of much abuse from the Hill 16 fraternity as he came to the aid of the lads in maroon and white while, at the other end, Denis Glennon continued to torment Ross McConnell and another foul on the full-forward enabled Des Dolan to open his account from a tricky free. In the 13th minute, McConnell again impeded Glennon, allowing Dolan to restore Westmeath"s four-point lead from another free. Bernard Brogan soon pulled up in obvious distress with a hamstring problem allowing Westmeath to break back, but the attack was abruptly halted with a high challenge by Colin Moran on Dermot Bannon, which on another day could easily have led to the red-carding of the winners" right half-back. With Des Dolan adopting a roving commission, David Henry found himself in an advanced position in the Westmeath half and the Dublin corner-back kicked one of the scores of the afternoon in the 17th minute. Within a minute, the gap was down to two points when John Keane fouled Alan Brogan and Tomás Quinn pointed the ensuing free. From the kick out, David Duffy undid a great piece of fielding by sending a very loose handpass in the direction of Damien Healy. With John Keane still losing out in his head-to-head with Alan Brogan, the replacement for the latter"s injured brother Bernard, Diarmuid Connolly kicked a great point. Shortly before he was replaced by Alan Mangan, a visibly-struggling Dermot Bannon did well to win a sideline kick for Westmeath but Des Dolan"s point attempt from the subsequent lineball lacked conviction. Westmeath mixed the good with the bad in the next few passages of play, defending heroically (as is their wont), but also kicking away possession far too easily. Gary Connaughton was soon forced to advance from his line to hack the ball to safety, before Conal Keaney was way off target with his point attempt. Another sign of Dublin"s ongoing frustration came when Jason Sherlock fouled Des Dolan, shortly before the latter got his first score from play when he slotted over a great point, after fine approach play by Fergal Wilson. Soon, Doran Harte"s remarkable engine enabled him to track back near his own goal and effect a vital interception on the inrushing Tomás Quinn. However, the Lake County then gifted the winners another soft free which left-footed placekicker, Conal Keaney did well to convert from near the 45-metre line. A few minutes later, David Duffy stumbled in possession resulting in Michael Ennis having to impede Conal Keaney and, on this occasion, Tomás Quinn made no mistake from the free. The losers had the two best opportunities to go in front before the interval, but, at the break, the teams were level on a scoreline of Dublin 0-8 Westmeath 1-5. By now, any possible feeling of complacency in the Dublin camp would have been well dispelled and "Pillar" Caffrey made two personnel changes - one in defence and one in attack - prior to the resumption of play. Within 20 seconds of the throw-in, Ciaran Whelan (now on in his second stint as a "temporary sub" for Shane Ryan) kicked a trademark point for the metropolitans. The winners seldom looked likely to score a goal which invariably increases the volume from the hordes on the Hill, but it took an instinctive save with his legs by Gary Connaughton to deny Tomás Quinn in the 37th minute. Westmeath were level when Des Dolan, staying oblivious to the chorus of booing from Hill 16, slotted over a difficult free, awarded after a posse of Dubs swarmed on top of Denis Glennon. The Westmeath captain then gave his troops the lead with a sublime point after taking Alan Mangan"s pass. Dolan went for his hat-trick of points but his ambitious shot was comfortably held by Stephen Cluxton. Des Dolan was causing untold problems for Paul Casey while, at the other end, John Keane had long since got the measure of Alan Brogan. But the reigning champions drew level in the 51st minute, Diarmuid Connolly pointing neatly after a surging run by Shane Ryan. At exactly the mid-point of the second moiety, Dublin took a lead they would never relinquish, Colin Moran firing over a terrific point at the end of a patient move. Scores were now at a premium and Des Dolan was unable to find the range from a 40-metre free, with the Hill in full voice in their unsporting attempts to distract the International Rules star. Denis Glennon then looked certain to equalise, having skilfully manoeuvred his way into a scoring position, but a timely nudge from David Henry had the desired effect and Glennon"s shot tailed off wide. A huge Westmeath roar then greeted the introduction of Martin Flanagan but the injury he picked up in the defeat of Offaly was visible for all to see and he was confined to one unsuccessful long-range shot in the time remaining. The hitherto-anonymous Jason Sherlock then slipped by Francis Boyle, but the only survivor from Dublin"s last Sam Maguire Cup triumph in 1995 saw his shot come back off the upright. A foul by David Henry on Denis Glennon gave Des Dolan what appeared to be a reasonably straightforward chance to level the contest but Dolan"s radar deserted him, much to the enjoyment of a raucous gathering on Hill 16. Stephen O"Shaughnessy pulled off a spectacular block from an Alan Mangan shot, before Jason Sherlock"s invaluable big match experience came to the fore when he coolly rifled over his side"s 12th point in the 32nd minute. The winners opened up a three-point lead in the dying seconds of normal time, Barry Cahill sensibly fisting the ball over the Westmeath crossbar, following fine play by Jason Sherlock. Only one minute of added-time was signalled by the fourth official and, therefore, it seemed strange that Denis Glennon opted to tap over a routine free, after he had been fouled, as only a goal was of any real benefit to the losers at this juncture. Half a minute later, referee Padraig Hughes (who had a reasonable game) blew the full-time whistle, much to the relief of players, mentors and supporters decked in sky blue and navy, as their maroon and white-clad counterparts displayed a lot of frustration at their narrow defeat. In terms of application and spirit, Tomás Ó Flatharta could not possibly have asked for any more from his charges. However, a little bit of on-field cuteness here and there could undoubtedly have fashioned a famous Westmeath win. The Lake County"s much-heralded defence again came up trumps, even if some crucial frees were needlessly conceded and numbers 1 to 7 generally played up to their usual high standard. Martin Flanagan"s loss at midfield was incalculable, even if Donal O"Donoghue and David Duffy worked tirelessly in this sector. However, the over-reliance on Des Dolan and Denis Glennon for both inspiration and scores was painfully obvious in attack, yet again, despite the never-say-die attitude of their forward colleagues, two of whom spent more time sweeping and defending than actually attacking. A return of four points in the last hour of the game tells its own grim story. Punters with ante-post dockets on Dublin to win their 23rd All-Ireland SFC title in 2008 will now be querying their wisdom after this less-than-inspirational display from the winners. In defence, David Henry (in an attacking sense) and Bryan Cullen (as an excellent defensive pivot) regularly caught the eye. Eamonn Fennell did not match his display against Louth and Ciaran Whelan remains an integral part of his county"s drive for September glory. The metropolitan forward line disappointed - the starting backs actually outscored the starting forwards from play - and Diarmuid Connolly"s brace of points on his introduction will strengthen his starting claims against a Wexford team which will now feel they an outstanding chance to rewrite the record books, some two and a half weeks from now. DUBLIN: Stephen Cluxton; David Henry (0-1), Ross McConnell, Stephen O"Shaughnessy; Colin Moran (0-1), Bryan Cullen, Barry Cahill (0-1); Eamonn Fennell, Shane Ryan; Paul Flynn, Jason Sherlock (0-1), Bernard Brogan; Alan Brogan (capt., 0-1), Conal Keaney (0-2, 2f), Tomás Quinn (0-3, 3f). Subs: Diarmuid Connolly (0-2) for B. Brogan (inj., 17 mins), Paul Casey for McConnell (h-t), Mark Vaughan (0-1) for Flynn (h-t), Ciaran Whelan (0-1) for Fennell (56), Brendan McManamon for Quinn (65). WESTMEATH: Gary Connaughton; Francis Boyle, Kieran Gavin, John Keane; Michael Ennis (1-0), Derek Heavin, Damien Healy; Donal O"Donoghue, David Duffy; Fergal Wilson, John Smyth, Doran Harte; Des Dolan (capt., 0-5, 3f), Denis Glennon (0-3, 1f), Dermot Bannon. Subs: Alan Mangan for Bannon (inj., 23 mins), Martin Flanagan for Smyth (57), David Glennon for Wilson (67). REFEREE: Padraig Hughes (Armagh).